Talisman
by Akarui Kaze
Summary: Talismans are creatures, spirits, or demons. No one is sure, but they make deals with humans in their darkest hour. Madigan about to end everything is approach by a talisman and makes a deal. Giving up his most precious wedding ring of his dead wife, now he must fight other talismans for his wish to come true. His only love to be brought back.


Prolog

"I'm home!" A man, around the age of twenty or so, perhaps a college student, screamed into what appeared to be a brand new home that was just bought off the market. Dark and quiet, the house seemed empty, not a home in which his new beautiful wife, Asthore would be awaiting him. The man adjusted his short straight black hair that dangled in his face, as his piercing forest green eyes adjusted to the dark lighting. Walking through the doorway, he walked towards the kitchen. "Asthore?" After walking for a moment into the dark kitchen, he tripped on something slippery. Patting his back in pain and wiping the slippery liquid off his hands on his pants, he rose to turn the kitchen lights on.

A pale, almost ghostly figure, whispered in hush tones lying on the floor in the slippery crimson substance. "…Madi…?" Madigan was speechless. He quickly dropped to the floor to help his hurt wife. Bleeding profusely, Asthore was far too gone for anyone to help her now. Multiple stab wounds riddled her abdomen. It was amazing she could even speak. Barely having any sight left, or heartbeat, Asthore called her husband name again, hoping to make contact with him. In her eyes, he was nothing but a blur.

"Asthore! Who did this to you? Hold on! I'll get help!" Asthore dialed 911 on his cellphone.

"…Madi…" Asthore coughed up before she lied there dead.

Tears in his eyes, holding his phone tightly to his ear, Madigan reached his other hand to touch her face. "…Asthore…?"

"911, what's your emergency Sir?" The operator said waiting for a response.

"…" Madigan dropped the phone now sobbing holding Asthore.

"Sir?"

"…"

"I'm sending police over to your residence right now. Please stay where you are."

A few weeks later, after the investigation of Asthore death turned up nothing, Madigan, hair now overgrown and unkempt, eyes losing the light they once held, clothes ripped and stained, walked towards the subway station he first talked to Asthore at. Standing in front of the tracks, starring into the tracks, he wobbled forward and backwards.

"Asthore? Can I be with you soon?" He held his wedding ring firmly in his hands grasping it closer to his chest.

"Will we be together?"

"Can I live with you as I am now?" Madigan at almost the edge of the tracks, almost in slow motion to him, a train fast approaching the station. Madigan began to step forward.

"I wouldn't do that if you want to see Asthore again~" A silver wolf with glowing midnight purple eyes whistled to Madigan. Madigan immediately snapped out of his trance like state and stepped back before the train hit him. Confused, Madigan looked around to see if a silver wolf body got hit by the train, or if anyone saw a wolf in general.

"I'm here, boy." The silver wolf snapped calmly at Madigan from behind. Madigan thinking it was a sign from Heaven, questioned the creature.

"Asthore? Is that you?"

"Of course not. I'm a wolf spirit so to speak, a talisman, not a human." The wolf said sternly.

"What do you want?"

"You. Or perhaps in better terms, your wish."

"My wish?"

"What do you want in this whole world? Anything?" The Wolf smiled. "…Perhaps Asthore?..."

Taken aback, Madigan fell to his knees and tried to grab the wolf in surprise and anger, but his hands passed through the silver wolf. "Can you do that?"

"Not as I am now, as you can see I'm too weak, but if you bring me food, I could."

"Anything!" Desperately, a broken man, Madigan accepted right away.

Grinning the wolf ear to ear. "Perfect, first in order to grant your wish I must be stronger and in order to bond and become one with you, I must take something precious to you."

Madigan looked at the wolf speechless and even more confused than he already was. "Become one?"

"To put it simple, give me something precious to you, feed me others like myself, and Asthore could return to the world of the living. You two can live happily ever after and all that garbage." The silver wolf, whose body seemed to fade in and out slightly, sighed and looked up with piercing velvet eyes at Madigan.

"Do we have a deal?" He asked swiftly.

Unsure, but having nothing to lose and wanting nothing more than Asthore back, Madigan agreed. "…Yes…"

"…Good…" The wolf body started to dissipate into a cloud of smoke that surrounded Madigan. As the blurry wolf shaped smoke ran around Madigan body, Madigan wedding ring started to turn to dust in his hands.

"No! Please! Not my ring! Asthore!" Madigan screamed with tears in his eyes, now understanding the meaning to the word precious the wolf was babbling about. Seconds later a tattoo of a misshapen line that looked like a wolf's ear began to form on his upper left shoulder.


End file.
